76 Batches of Food Rejected by China Customs in June 2019

On July 16, General Administration of Customs publicized information of non-compliant food products rejected by GAC during port inspection in June this year.^[1] 76 batches of foods imported from 21 countries/regions had issues.^[2] Major categories of food rejected include seafood, beverages and confectionary. Details are:

Among the 76 rejected food products, there were 3 batches of dairy products (buttermilk powder, pecorino cheese and mozzarella cheese) that failed to meet hygienic or credentials requirements. (refer to GB 2761-2017 National Food Safety Standard Maximum Levels of Mycotoxins in Foods)

7 batches of canned tuna from Spain and South Korea were found to have excessive levels of phosphate which is subject to a maximum level of 1.0g/kg in canned aquatic products according to GB 2760-2014 National Food Safety Standard for Uses of Food Additives.

3 batches of Malaysian and Indonesian edible bird nests were blocked from entering China due to excessive nitrite levels, marking the first time imported edible bird nests have been rejected in 2019. In 2012 China’s now disbanded Ministry of Health set a temporary upper level of nitrite in edible bird nest of 30mg/kg in an announcement published.^[3] This requirement however has not been written into GB 2762-2017 National Food Safety Standard Maximum Levels of Contaminants in Foods. Relevant stakeholders should pay attention to this requirement.

All the foods in the blacklist were returned or destroyed at port.